Suspected thugs on Sunday attacked and stripped naked the Chief Executive Officer of Hosamudia Farm, Don Pedro Obaseki, in Benin City, the Edo State capital. The incident reportedly occurred at Uwa Primary School, where Obaseki had gone to play football.
A video circulating on social media showed Obaseki being assaulted by a group of men before he was taken to the Oba of Benin’s Palace. He was allegedly forced to kneel at the palace gate, with the assailants telling palace guards that they had apprehended an Oghion, described as an enemy of the Oba.
Obaseki, who is a cousin of former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, was later addressed by some palace chiefs who spoke in the Bini language. The chiefs reportedly cautioned the attackers against causing unrest, noting that the Oba was on his way to the Holy Arousa Cathedral for a thanksgiving service marking the end of the Igue festival.
One of the chiefs warned that the palace would not tolerate violence or disorder, especially on a sacred and significant day, stressing that anyone who considered himself an enemy of the Oba would face the consequences of such a claim.
Despite protests from the suspected thugs, the palace chiefs intervened and took Obaseki into the palace, bringing the immediate confrontation to an end, as details surrounding the motive for the attack remain unclear.
